Engaged Dogs; Walking & Training

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Engaged Dogs; Walking & Training

Offering Family Therapy that includes 4legged friends too! Engaged Walks + 1:1 Training available🐶

08/05/2026

Reason #173 to
Trust Your Dog:
Penny Grace (my dog) saved us from serious injury this morning.
As we were walking, with her on a flexi leash and enjoying a good leisurely stroll and sniff, I registered an unusual cracking sort of noise.
At the same time, I saw Penn tense up and begin moving backward, giving me a nervous little side eye while she did.
Rather than wait for my brain to catch up or arguing with her, I quickly moved back with her.
As we were stepping back, a huge tree branch crashed down about 6 inches from my face, shattering all over the sidewalk as it landed.
We both stood there, shocked for a minute trying to make sense of what just happened.
While she gave a big shake off (a coping skill dogs use to regulate and shake off big feelings,) someone who witnessed what happened rolled down their window and shouted “your dog just saved your life!!”
I was so grateful someone else saw the event and corroborated what I was feeling in a moment that I was stunned into stillness.
When my brain finally did catch up and realized just what a close call it had been, I paused with Penny to regulate together, to thank her for her intuition, and to thank the universe for the trusting relationship she and I have built together that allowed me in a split second to trust her.
Our relationships with our dogs are SO IMPORTANT, for SO many reasons.
Today I’m pretty confident that my relationship, and the trust built between us, saved both of us.

07/29/2026

“How to Teach Pattern Games:
· Identify a pattern you want to teach your dog.
o 1,2,3 (treat on 3)
o Ready, Set, Catch!
o Ready, Set, Touch!
· Have your treats broken up in small pieces and easily accessible. This is one of the few games that it is ok to have your treat in your hand in order to ensure swift timing of reward while we teach.
· Settle into a low distraction environment with your pup. We love bathrooms for training, quiet places inside the home, and fenced backyards with low distractions.
· For the purpose of this example, we’ll focus on the 1,2,3 pattern game. Begin counting, out loud, 1,2,3. When you get to 3, immediately deliver a treat to your dogs mouth, as you say 3.
· Repeat 10-15 times so that your dog begins to anticipate the number 3 and the subsequent reward as you say the number.
· Begin playing with your tone and inflection, knowing we sometimes change these things and they can change the message and energy of what we’re saying. Play with the timing of counting as well, spacing out the time between the numbers to a few seconds. Repeat 10-15 times more, always rewarding right as you say 3.
· Begin to take the game on the move. Leash your dog, in the same low distraction environment, and begin to count “1, 2, 3” rewarding on 3.
· Practice this pattern in low distraction environments before bringing it to higher distraction environments like common areas, in front of your home, in parks, while walking etc.
· Practice often! Our pups are only able to perform behaviors that we have practiced at length in a variety of situations and settings and only while they are under threshold. If you wait until your dog reactive dog is approaching another dog to practice this, they are unlikely to be successful. We want to ALWAYS aim to set our dogs up for success, knowing being proactive is better than reactive.”
Read more in our blog:
Help Your Dog Manage Their Emotions and Energy with Pattern Games!

07/14/2026

“Where attention goes, energy flows” ✨

It’s helpful to remember that our attention is often rewarding and reinforcing of our dog’s behavior.
Knowing that it is our job to communicate really clearly when our dogs are on the right track and offering preferred behaviors, we can be intentional about what we give attention to and what we ignore or interrupt and redirect.

Selena is learning that her humans prefer that she keep “four on the floor” during greetings.

Check out the video on slide 2 to see how we’re teaching her to have calm greetings while also meeting her where she’s at in the moment and celebrating her excitement in safe ways.

Questions about how to teach your dog to have calm, safe greetings?
Let’s connect!

07/10/2026

🌈⭐️Did you know....
that lack of adequate, restorative rest increases emotional and behavioral reactivity, decreases learning capabilities, decreases working memory, increases impulsive behaviors and increases nervous system dysregulation in dogs AND humans?
Is your dog getting enough good quality, restorative rest to help them be their best self?”- read more in our blog: Is your dog getting enough quality rest to set them up for success?

07/01/2026

850,000 fireworks
will be set off over
FORTY MINUTES
from TEN different locations in DC
beginning (unpredictably)
some time between 10:30-11PM
This will be a literal nightmare for SO many dogs, the local wildlife, and humans struggling with PTSD and/or noise sensitivity.
Plan ahead to set your dog up for success!!
Ideally:
Leave town. Get away. Avoid it all!
Next best:
Lots of exercise in the morning, bathroom breaks planned around the displays, CBD and/or pharmaceuticals on board, white noise (sound screen, fans, music,) and a frozen Lickimat
Worst: wing it and see what happens

Reminder: it is never appropriate to bring dogs to fireworks! July 4th is the day the most pets go missing all year due to fear and dysregulated nervous systems.

How are you preparing your dog for the fireworks?

Need some support?
Let’s connect 💙

06/07/2026

Engaged Dogs offers SO much more than “dog training!”

While it’s fun and useful for our dogs to know some “obedience” based cues (think Sit, Down, Touch, Place, etc) the reality is that cultivating things like nervous system regulation, the ability to settle (teaching an “off switch,”) and safety based behaviors (like walking close when in crowds, ignoring other dogs/ humans/ kids/ squirrels/ etc) are infinitely more important and practical than traditional “dog training” typically offers.

An example:
Your dog may know tons of cues/ behaviors and be really good at them!
BUT if they are overstimulated/ fearful/ anxious/ etc and their nervous system is dysregulated, they are likely unable to perform and utilize those skills consistently. (This is a major contributor to why we hear “my dog is great inside, but loses it as soon as we got outside!”)

Similar to humans, we might have excellent skills and education experience, but when ANY emotion becomes *too much* and floods our systems with cortisol and adrenaline, we are not able to access and perform the required skills to manage the world properly.

Try not to get caught up on cues and tricks (though they are fun and have their place!) and instead focus on “how can I help my dog feel their best and be emotionally regulated?”

Need some help?
Let’s connect!

05/30/2026

Norman is visiting for the weekend and enjoyed being chauffeured around DC in Penny’s Palace 🥰🐶🚴🏽

05/27/2026

Engaged Dogs was created out of the desire to help pups and pawrents live their happiest and healthiest lives together.
We offer a variety of Engaged Services to support each member of your pack by meeting them exactly where they are, with no judgement and no expectations, all while helping them work to be their happiest and best selves.

Engaged Dogs offers dog training, education opportunities, dog photography, content creation centering your canine, group classes, wellness support, and more.

Living Engaged means learning together, accepting where we are while working towards where we’d like to be and always doing the best we can with what we have.

Engaged Dogs staff utilizes science based, positive reinforcement training techniques and considers the well-being of the whole dog in our treatment style approach.

Are you ready to Live Engaged?
Check out our services and set up a consultation to discuss how Engaged Dogs can help you and your pup(s) live a little more Engaged today!
Ready to get Engaged?
Signup on the website:
www.ChooseToLiveEngaged.com

05/24/2026

Do you know how to engage your dog in Tug in safe and fun ways?
Scroll through to watch Anchovy demonstrate!!

Tug Do’s:
Hold the tug toy still and let your dog do the tugging
Tug side to side, gently
Cheer them on! Make it clear when you’re playing and engaging them in the game
Let them win!!
Use Tug to work on other skills like “Drop” and building impulse control

Tug Don’t’s:
Never tug up and down
Never use jerking movements

05/20/2026

Ready to get Engaged?
Checkout our website: www.ChooseToLiveEngaged.com
Training walks incorporating enrichment, private training, pack walls, and more!
Learn more about your dog in our blog, learn more about our mission and force free training philosophy, and engage in services, all on the website.
Questions?
Let’s connect!

Address

465 M Street SW
Washington D.C., DC
20024

Telephone

+17742011509

Website

https://www.choosetoliveengaged.com/dog-training, https://www.choosetoliveengaged.com/post/dog-communication-breakdown-w

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